Audiobooks narrated by Kurt Kanazawa

Eric Redman (Author), Kurt Kanazawa (Narrator)

Audiobook

From the author of Meet Cute Diary comes a delectable rom-com that’s brimming with zest and a sprinkle of sweetness. A must-read for fans of Casey McQuiston and Julian Winters. Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses—an Asian American café and a Puerto Rican bakery—and Gabi’s lack of coordination has cost their soccer team too many games to count. Stuck in the closet and scared to pursue his own dreams, Gabi sees his parents’ shop as his future. Stuck under the weight of his parents’ expectations, Theo’s best shot at leaving Vermont means first ensuring his parents’ livelihood is secure. So when a new fusion café threatens both shops, Theo and Gabi realize an unfortunate truth—they can only achieve their goals by working together to cook up an underground bakery operation and win back their customers. But can they put aside their differences long enough to save their parents’ shops or will the new feelings between them boil over?

Emery Lee (Author), Avi Roque, Kurt Kanazawa (Narrator)

Audiobook

Continuity

A sheet of ice sits in the desert of New Mexico. A mad eco-terrorist plants a bomb in order to save humankind. A beleaguered film crew tries to get in one last shot before losing the light. Storytelling and science collide with hilarious and devastating consequences. “Continuity” is part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series of science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world. Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood in December 2022. Directed by Anna Lyse Erikson Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast production starring: Johnny Berchtold as Jake and George Seamus Dever as David Caxton Sarah Drew as Eve and Nicole Mark Holden as Sound Guy Desireé Mee Jung as First AD Kurt Kanazawa as The PA Stacey Martinez as Second PA Bukola Ogunmola as Dr. Anna Gerber and Lily Devon Sorvari as Second AD and Camera Op Stephen Tobolowsky as Larry Liza Weil as Maria Senior Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson Audio Concept Design by Mark Holden Recording Engineer and Editor: Neil Wogenson Sound Design: Mark Holden, David Wilson and Charles Carroll Mixing Engineer: Charles Carroll Prepared for Audio by Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood Senior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin Foley Artist: Jeff Gardner

Bess Wohl (Author), Bukola Ogunmola, Desiree Mee Jung, Devon Sovari, Johnny Berchtold, Kurt Kanazawa, Liza Weil, Sarah Drew, Seamus Dever, Stephen Tobolowski (Narrator)

Audiobook

Control Freak: My Epic Adventure Making Video Games

The designer of Unreal and Gears of War offers an eye-opening personal account of the video game industry as it grew from niche hobby to hundred-billion-dollar enterprise. Video games are dominating the planet. In 2020, they brought in $180 billion dollars globally—nearly $34 billion in the United States alone. So who are the brilliant designers who create these stunning virtual worlds? Cliff Bleszinski—or CliffyB as he is known to gamers—is one of the few who've reached mythical, rock star status. In Control Freak, he gives an unvarnished, all-access tour of the business. Toiling away in his bedroom, Bleszinski created and shipped his first game before graduating high school, and at just seventeen joined a fledgling company called Epic Games. He describes the grueling hours, obscene amounts of Mountain Dew and obsessive focus necessary to achieve his singular creative visions. He details Epic's rise to industry leader, thanks largely to his work on bestselling franchises Unreal and Gears of War (and, later, his input on a little game called Fortnite), as well as his own awkward ascent from shy, acne-riddled introvert to sports car-driving celebrity rubbing shoulders with Bill Gates. As he writes, "No one is weirder than a nerd with money." While the book is laced with such self-deprecating humor, Bleszinski also bluntly addresses the challenges that have long-faced the gaming community, including sexism and a lack of representation among both designers and the characters they create. Control Freak is a hilarious, thoughtful, and inspiring memoir. Even if you don't play games, you'll walk away from this book recognizing them as a true art form and appreciating the genius of their creators.

Cliff Bleszinski (Author), Kurt Kanazawa (Narrator)

Audiobook

Diverse Energies

“No one can doubt that the wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed, but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. No one can doubt that cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge must lead to freedom of the mind and freedom of the soul.” —President John F. Kennedy, from a speech at University of California, March 23, 1962 In a world gone wrong, heroes and villains are not always easy to distinguish and every individual has the ability to contribute something powerful. In this stunning collection of original and rediscovered stories of tragedy and hope, the stars are a diverse group of students, street kids, good girls, kidnappers, and child laborers pitted against their environments, their governments, differing cultures, and sometimes one another as they seek answers in their dystopian worlds. Take a journey through time from a nuclear nightmare of the past to society’s far future beyond Earth with these eleven stories by masters of speculative fiction.

Cindy Pon, Daniel H. Wilson, Ph.D., Ellen Oh, Greg Van Eekhout, K. Tempest Bradford, Ken Liu, Malinda Lo, Paolo Bacigalupi, Rahul Kanakia, Ursula K. Le Guin (Author), Catherine Ho, James Chen, Jasmin Walker, Kurt Kanazawa, Neil Shah, Nick Walther, Shaun Taylor-Corbett (Narrator)

Audiobook

Franklinland

This modern, comic take on the American Revolution puts the spotlight on the relationship between the brilliant and domineering Ben Franklin and his son William. As Ben plants the seeds of a new republic, King George III appoints William as Royal Governor of New Jersey - a change in affairs that creates a revolutionary family rift. Includes a conversation with playwright Lloyd Suh. Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood in November 2021. Franklinland is part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series of science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world. Directed by Anna Lyse Erikson Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast recording starring: Gregory Harrison as Benjamin Franklin Larry Powell as William Franklin Kurt Kanazawa as William Temple Franklin Senior Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson Prepared for audio by Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood Recording Engineer, Editor and Mixer: Charles Carroll. Sound Design: Charles Carroll and Austin Haltermann Senior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin Foley Artist: Jeff Gardner

Lloyd Suh (Author), Gregory Harrison, Kurt Kanazawa, Larry Powell (Narrator)

Audiobook

If I See You Again Tomorrow

A New York Times bestseller! From the author of The Sky Blues and Blaine for the Win comes a speculative young adult romance about a teen stuck in a time loop that's endlessly monotonous until he meets the boy of his dreams. For some reason, Clark has woken up and relived the same monotonous Monday 309 times. Until Day 310 turns out to be…different. Suddenly, his usual torturous math class is interrupted by an anomaly—a boy he's never seen before in all his previous Mondays. When shy, reserved Clark decides to throw caution to the wind and join effusive and effervescent Beau on a series of "errands" across the Windy City, he never imagines that anything will really change, because nothing has in such a long time. And he definitely doesn't expect to fall this hard or this fast for someone in just one day. There's just one problem: how do you build a future with someone if you can never get to tomorrow?

Robbie Couch (Author), Kurt Kanazawa (Narrator)

Audiobook

No-No Boy

Ken Narasaki's adaptation of the novel by Japanese-American author John Okada is set during the aftermath of the U.S. government's incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent during World War II, and the resettlement of Japanese Americans to the West Coast. In the play, Ichiro returns to Seattle, where he struggles to transition into post-war life. Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in January 2021. No-No Boy is sponsored in part by the California Civil Liberties Program from the California State Library. Directed by Anna Lyse Erikson Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg Kurt Kanazawa as Taro Emily Kuroda as Mrs. Kanno and Mrs. Kumasaka John Miyasaki as Freddie and others Ken Narasaki as Kenji, Kumasaka-san and others Sharon Omi as Ma Joy Osmanski as Emi, 2A Sab Shimono as Pa Greg Watanabe as Ichiro Paul Yen as Eto, Jun and others Senior Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson Prepared for audio by Mark Holden Sound design by Mark Holden and Neil Wogenson Recording Engineers: Charles Carroll and Neil Wogenson Mixed by Charles Carroll and Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood Senior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin Foley Artist: Jeff Gardner Editor: Neil Wogenson

John Okada, Ken Narasaki (Author), Emily Kuroda, John Miyasaki, Kurt Kanazawa (Narrator)

Audiobook

She Feels Like Home

He’s a billionaire. Peter Nguyen has achieved everything he ever wanted. So why isn’t he happier? He goes to his high school reunion to show up all the people who didn’t give the time of day to the skinny, nerdy boy he’d been. But then he runs into his old friend Britt. She can barely pay her bills. Brittanica Jones watched her future evaporate when she had to leave college after a brutal attack left her mother incapacitated. She hasn’t done anything she set out to do, and the only reason she even goes to her high school reunion is to reconnect with her old friend Peter . . . even though he ghosted her back when she needed him most. They’ve got nothing in common…except each other. When Peter sees Britt again, he realizes how much he misses her. Her acerbic quick wit and “take no shit” attitude are a welcome change from people who fawn all over him. When he realizes that he’s got the means to help her out, he offers her a temporary job. However, grown-up Britt inspires sexy thoughts, not friendship thoughts. Their relationship deepens into a romance. Britt’s downtrodden heart blossoms with the opportunity to work with Peter and explore their changed relationship. But this interlude has an end date, and when disaster strikes, she’s got no choice but to leave. Can these old high school friends overcome the hurts from the past and find love with each other?

Lisa Hughey (Author), Kurt Kanazawa, Maxine Mitchell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sisters Matsumoto

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the US government sent thousands of Japanese American citizens to detention camps. In 1945, three Japanese-American sisters return to their farm in Stockton, California, after years in an internment camp, but the once prosperous family finds it's not easy to pick up the pieces of their former lives. As the details of their deceased father's final arrangements emerge, the sisters must work together to keep their dreams alive. This recording is sponsored in part by California Civil Liberties Program from the California State Library. Includes a conversation with actor George Takei, playwright Philip Kan Gotanda, and director Tim Dang. Directed by Tim Dang. An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance featuring: Keiko Agena as Rose Matsumoto June Angela as Grace Matsumoto Ron Bottitta as Mr. Hersham Kurt Kanazawa as Henry Suzy Nakamura as Chiz Matsumoto Greg Watanabe as Bola Ryun Yu as Hideo Sound Effects Artist, Jeff Gardner. Script Supervisor, Daniel Trostler. Production Manager, Nikki Hyde. Music Supervisor, Ronn Lipkin. Associate Artistic Director, Anna Lyse Erikson, Editor, Mitchell Lindskoog. Recording Engineer, Sound Designer and Mixer, Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. Recorded in Los Angeles before a live audience at The James Bridges Theater, UCLA, in November of 2018.

Philip Kan Gotanda (Author), Greg Watanabe, June Angela, Keiko Agena, Kurt Kanazawa, Ron Bottitta, Ryun Yu, Suzy Nakamura (Narrator)

Audiobook

Temporary Wife Temptation

"You want me to find you a wife?""No. I want you to be my wife." Garrett Song is this close to taking the reins of his family's LA fashion empire...until the Song matriarch insists he marries her handpicked bride first. To block her matchmaking, he recruits Natalie Sobol to pose as his wife. She needs a fake spouse as badly as he does. But when passion burns down their chaste agreement, the flames could destroy them all...

Jayci Lee (Author), Juliet Ann Maura, Kurt Kanazawa (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lost Ryu

Kohei Fujiwara has never seen a big ryu in real life. Those dragons all disappeared from Japan after World War II, and twenty years later, they’ve become the stuff of legend. Their smaller cousins, who can fit in your palm, are all that remain. And Kohei loves his ryu, Yuharu, but … … Kohei has a memory of the big ryu. He knows that’s impossible, but still, it’s there, in his mind. In it, he can see his grandpa—Ojiisan—gazing up at the big ryu with what looks to Kohei like total and absolute wonder. When Kohei was little, he dreamed he’d go on a grand quest to bring the big ryu back, to get Ojiisan to smile again. But now, Ojiisan is really, really sick. And Kohei is running out of time. Kohei needs to find the big ryu now, before it’s too late. With the help of Isolde, his new half-Jewish, half-Japanese neighbor; and Isolde’s Yiddish-speaking dragon, Cheshire; he thinks he can do it. Maybe. He doesn’t have a choice. In The Lost Ryu, debut author Emi Watanabe Cohen gives us a story of multigenerational pain, magic, and the lengths to which we’ll go to protect the people we love.

Emi Watanabe Cohen (Author), Kurt Kanazawa (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Kurt Kanazawa